Drunk in Love
by missippi-twists
Summary: With reason to suspect Tony Stark's relapse into alcoholism, SHIELD gathers the cooperation of Pepper Potts and a few of the Avengers team to investigate Tony's case and determine their next course of action.


**A/N: **Hi all, I've published this story of the same name under my AOO acc (also by the same name) I do feel more comfortable posting here which is why I've published it here too. Enjoy :)

"Captain?" Coulson's voice rang out from the other end of the meeting room. Steve's eyes looked up to meet the agent's before he expelled a quick breath. He cleared his throat and stood, commanding attention from the Avengers seated before him.

"Yes, as what agent Coulson has briefed every single one of you prior to this meeting, we are all gathered here today to discuss the next course of action in dealing with Tony Stark. In recent light of his performance, we have reasons to believe that Stark is relapsing into his alcoholism. Of course, we do not have substantial evidence to back our suspicions as of yet.

"However, after discussions with Miss Virginia, also known as Miss Pepper, to some of us, she has agreed to let SHIELD agents keep Stark under watch and assess his current state.' Steve paused his speech and walked over to Natasha's side in a few quick strides and placed a file in front of her.

"Natasha, you have been entrusted to take charge of this mission." Steve announced. Natasha thumbed through the papers in the file and absorbed the information quickly. "Understood, captain."

"You are given a week to asses Stark's credibility to pilot as Iron Man. All findings are to be reported directly to SHIELD operatives." Agent Coulson instructed. Natasha spun her chair so she could face Coulson, crossing her arms against her chest as she did so. "And what of the actions?" she questioned in a neutral tone, the slight furrow of her brows giving away her displeasure at the turn of events. "I'm afraid this is classified information, Romanoff. If there are no further questions, the meeting's over." Coulson nodded his head with a note of finality and walked out of the room.

Natasha leaned back on her chair and sighed loudly. "This is bull." She picked up the file and tossed it back on the table, her face darkening. "Nat, orders are orders." Clint tried to reason, reaching a hand out for Natasha's forearm but was stopped midway when Natasha shot him an icy glare. "I am not pleased. I do not think Tony should be treated this way," the deep rumble of Thor's voice radiated across the room as he stood up slowly from his chair, looking at the file like it was offensive material.

Steve slapped his hands on the table and shot a look at every single pair of eyes in the room. "Listen, I do not want to do this either. Tony's a crucial part of our team but SHIELD has their reason for doing this," Natasha opened her mouth to protest but Steve's clenched jaw told her that he wasn't going to be interrupted.

"If this issue were to be swept under the rug now, it doesn't mean it will go away after a while. Think of the consequences should Tony suit up intoxicated. We're not going to play with fire here. We still have the laws of the government to adhere. It's better to be safe than sorry."

"I agree with Steve. Natasha, Coulson has said that there is no solid evidence as of this time. It could be a false alarm." Bruce interjected. Steve seemed to relax a little after the doctor's words.

A pregnant silence hung in the room for a few seconds as Natasha weighed the pros and cons of the situation. Finally, she gave a tired sigh and picked up the file and stood up silently. The tension dissipated and Steve's shoulders relaxed a little, a small smile across his face. "I guess we're done here," Clint clapped his hands together and stood up, reaching for the door as Bruce and Thor left.

"Natasha, could I have a word with you?" Steve asked, his words laced with firmness. Clint took his cue to leave the room and shut the door with a small click. Natasha turned her body and raised a brow at Steve, prompting him to speak. "Listen, I know we're putting you in a tight spot but there's a reason why I chose you. I want you to update me on Tony's status, if it's not too much trouble." Natasha gazed into Steve's eyes, her expression undecipherable. "Now we're talking." She said after a moment, her lips twitching at her corners.

She tucked the file into her jacket as Steve opened the door for her. Clint straightened up from the wall he was leaning against and fell into step with Natasha as she walked right past him. Steve shook his head at the sight he just witnessed and made a quick call to Pepper, struggling with the functions of his new touchscreen phone. You'd think him being a super soldier would super-size his brain but that was one miracle Steve was waiting to be delivered as he prayed every Sunday during church, still struggling to adapt with technology he was seventy years behind.

Pepper's phone rang for a while before it got directed to her voice mail, meaning that she was still in a meeting of her own, dealing with issues she had to deal, now that she was CEO of the Stark Industries. Steve fumbled with his words , his mind not registering that he was to speak after the beep and not wait for a warm 'hello' from Pepper.

"Hey, uh Pepper. Steve here. Of course, you'd know but that's not the point." Steve cursed silently before stringing the words in his head. "The meeting's over, and as you expressed earlier, Natasha will be taking over the case. She will be starting tomorrow and will be given a week. I've also informed Natasha of her secondary objectives. I hope to hear from you soon," Steve ended the call after that pulled his jacket around him tighter. _Time for a house visit_, Steve thought to himself as he walked towards the lifts.

* * *

"Reading retina scan," Jarvis's voice rang out in the private elevator escorting only verified members to the top most floors of the Stark Towers, including Tony's penthouse.

"Good afternoon Mr Steve Rodgers. Please state your reason of visit."

"Just a simple house visit," Steve replied calmly, placing his hands behind his back, his habit of standing at attention when questioned still clinging onto him. There was a split second of static before the intercom buzzed to life, the distinct ring of metal in the background as the genius, playboy, billionaire and philanthropist cleared his throat.

"Howdy, Cap. Didn't think you'd miss me so soon," Tony greeted with a chuckle. Steve tried not to roll his eyes at Tony's tone, wondering if he was even aware of the severity of his predicament.

"Jokes aside, Tony, can I come up?"

"Easy there, lover boy. Might I suggest you throw rocks upon my windows and profess your undying love for me under the light of the full moon which just so happens to be tonight?" Tony shot back effortlessly, his sharp wit tearing through Steve's usually calm demeanor. The star spangled captain was about to retort when Jarvis cut him off.

"Access approved," the monotone voice read and with that, the intercom went dead as the elevator climbed steadily to the top floor.

Steve's arrival was announced with a 'ding' as the elevator doors opened and he crossed the penthouse quickly to Tony's work room. He was about to punch in his access code when a hologram of Tony's face appeared on the door.

"Sorry cap, can't let you cross beyond this point. I'm working on a very private project today." Tony's deep voice purred as he concentrated on his soldering, not even bothering to make eye contact with the super soldier. Steve's tolerance for the brunette dropped a notch as he took a step back, eyes scanning Tony's work table.

"Jesus, I can feel your eyes boring into my very existence. It's distractingly rude, you know. Maybe I should slap a warning label on you whenever you're around. 'Do not operate machinery within a 5 mile radius of this man', how does that sound?" Tony drawled, setting his soldering iron down.

"It seems you have added 'standup comedian' to your repertoire of talents, Stark. What a nice touch," Steve remarked sarcastically, his voice tethering on an edge.

"You flatter me captain," Tony stood, disappearing from the hologram screen. The doors to his workroom slid open with a small 'whoosh' and Tony immediately leaned his body on the door frame, looking up coyly to hold the gaze of Steve in his twinkling eyes.

"So what brings you here if you aren't keen on sniffing my underwear secretly?"Steve's eyes widened and his faced twisted to that of sheer disgust at Tony's words.

"Stop trying to overcompensate with your wits here, smart pants. We need to talk." Steve said firmly, standing to full height and towering the shorter man to let him know how serious he ran his hand over his face and gave a quick pout before stepping aside from the door way, his hands behind his back.  
Steve's acute sense of hearing heard the swig of liquid and immediately turned on his heels, pointing to Tony.

"What's behind your back?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Nothing," Tony replied a little too quickly, straightening up like a kid caught red handed stealing from a cookie jar. Tony lowered his eyes, his long lashes casting shadows over his cheekbones as Steve found himself swallowing a lump down his throat at the sight.

"_Stark_," the captain pressed, rarely using his team mate's last name unless necessary.

"Fine, I was drinking. But all I had was a glass, I was about to return this to the cellar when you popped by. Ask Jarvis," Tony reasoned, putting his hands out in front of him, wine bottled gripped firmly in one.

"Recorded surveillance footage does back up Master Stark's claim. Would you like me to provide a play back?" Jarvis offered. Steve's face hardened as he mustered up all his anger and frustrations into a single glare. Tony visibly cowered at the look he was given and took a small step back.

"That would be of no use, Jarvis. And I believe we need to have a talk, now," he barked, grabbing Tony none too gently by the shoulder and shoving him forward.

"Steve, I like it rough but this is downright playing dirty in my books," Tony sighed as he eased himself into a chair, wiping his grease stained hands on a rag cloth.

"_Can it_, Stark," Steve barked, words clipped and face twisting into a scowl. "You've been drinking again, haven't you?" Steve went straight to the point, not even trying to sugar coat his words.

"Give me a break, Cap. It was only one glass."

"But it's not how much you drink, Tony. It's the whole idea of trying to conceal your actions, how you use it as a coping mechanism that we have to deal with here. Lie all you want, but don't even _think_ for a second how I don't notice the sweat on your brows, how you start getting jumpy when you go a few hours without a drink. You're a ticking time bomb, Tony, and people are going to send in bomb diffusers any moment," Steve finished by jabbing a finger upon Tony's sternum, hoping that the genius was able to get his warning before it was two days too late.

Tony was quiet for a while and Steve paced his spacious living room to cool his head, it wasn't often that the captain lost his temper. His sharp hearing senses could hear the heavy breaths coming from the brunette, indicating that his brilliant mind was working hard to unravel something, usually a new gadget or an improved equation.

The silence was broken by an audible 'Eureka!' from the genius as he thrust his Stark phone up Steve's face, like an overly excited kid on Christmas. "What paint job should I give this though? Should I give it a classic red and gold treatment or is that becoming boring? I can't become a passing fad, that'd kill me, Rogers." _I'm trying but I can't shake the demons away this time,_ was what Steve understood from Tony's façade.

The gears in Steve's mind started turning as he went through the notions of bringing a comrade's spirit up. He had done this so many times before, and he was good at it, god bless his soul. But no matter how good he was at this, Tony was a bit like stepping on thin ice. Telling him something blatantly was akin to an insult and Steve would be rewarded with his signature eye roll.

"Tony, you do know how stars form right?"

"Ever since I was 3, maybe 2, that part's kinda fuzzy and irrelevant." Tony joked, a small twinkle in his eyes as Steve's message clicked in his head.

"You're a laugh riot, Tony."

"I make great company for pizza, I'll have you know. Would you like to stay for some?" Tony asked just as the bell rang. Steve gave an incredulous look as he caught sight of a nervous delivery boy, a box of pizza in his hands as Tony greeted him like an old friend, charisma oozing off him like a burst water pipe.

"Tell me I look better in flesh, boy," Tony gave a wink as he handed him a sizable tip. The boy nodded dumbly, clearly awe struck at the hero standing right before him. "Well, America thanks you for your service, now go make her proud!" Tony clapped the boy on his back and shut the door.  
He turned to face a frowning Steve, still trying to wrap his head around the scene he just witnessed.  
"

Oh, not you too, Cap. Stop inflating my ego now, will you?" Tony cooed as he set the pizza on the table, opening the box. The smell of hot pizza wafted around the kitchen and Steve could feel his stomach growling. _Maybe one isn't enough_, Steve thought for a fleeting moment before he turned his focus on Tony, munching away at the pizza slice without a care in the world, or personal hygiene, for that matter, since Steve clearly remembered Tony had yet to wash his hands after tinkering around in his work room.

"How?"

"Jarvis sends the orders, runs a background check to see if they have an overdue library book or well, actually killed someone before. Relax, the Stark towers have yet to blow up, you gotta put in a little more faith, Cap."

"I'd bet on that," Steve replied sarcastically, wondering how many people have already breached the security contract just because this douche has an empty stomach and is too lazy to go outside for a proper meal.

"Relax, Captain tight pants," Tony droned as he offered a slice of pizza to the blonde.

"If only it doesn't make me your partner in crime, tin man," Steve retorted, taking a bite at his food.

"What say you become my _special_ partner?" Tony whispered suggestively into Steve's ear, the mentioned super soldier immediately choking on his food.

"Stop screwing around, Stark." Steve warned, wiping his chin with a napkin.

"I would if it was with you only," Tony winked, bursting out in laughter as he reveled in the look of disbelief Steve's face.


End file.
